Sei Investments Co. Lowers Position in Echostar CORP $ECHO

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its position in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,592 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,163 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Echostar were worth $3,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Echostar by 60.4% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 32,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,758,000 after buying an additional 12,093 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Echostar during the first quarter worth about $1,222,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Echostar by 104.2% in the 1st quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in Echostar in the first quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Echostar by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 38,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,492,000 after purchasing an additional 5,315 shares in the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Echostar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of Echostar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Echostar Stock Down 0.8%

ECHO stock opened at $87.03 on Friday. Echostar CORP has a one year low of $26.47 and a one year high of $147.25. The stock has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 5.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last released its earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter. Echostar had a negative return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 38.71%.The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Echostar CORP will post 23.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ECHO. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Echostar in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 target price on shares of Echostar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Raymond James Financial raised Echostar from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on Echostar in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Echostar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.00.

Echostar Profile

EchoStar Corporation is a communications company that provides satellite and wireless services, video distribution, and broadband connectivity solutions. Its business has historically been centered on satellite technology and related services, serving customers through a range of connectivity and network offerings.

The company operates through several segments that support pay-TV, enterprise, government, and consumer communications needs. Its services and technologies have included satellite television distribution, broadband satellite access, network infrastructure, and wireless communications capabilities.

EchoStar was founded in 1980 and has long been associated with satellite communications in the United States.